Nicole’s Bloatware Troubles By MrBlitzy “Some things hardly get easier these days,” said a brown lynx, soaring over a sea of binary code, “What am I to do about these recurring situations?” She looked at the shifting waves below, watching as the digits changed and formed a constant grid along the terrain. Nicole was on another of her trips in the digital realm of Mobius, a place she was always slightly comfortable in. She had been through here thousands of times since the day she first appeared. Back then, she didn’t have much of a form beyond being a program on a handheld device given to a princess. At that time, she was primarily an AI that operated on logic, which made it challenging to comprehend people and their emotions. She did her best to gather and analyze information to give the most rational, wise plans. However, sometimes her teammates chose illogical approaches, especially when done by a blue hedgehog. Despite how those actions went against her programming, it somewhat inspired her… made her want to see what they saw, feel what they felt. Over time, that AI would gradually shift and develop a personality. Her planning would adapt to her friend's emotions and behavior. Her communication would sound less rigid and robotic. She would soon develop desires herself, especially being able to see the world outside of her screen. Nicole studied how her allies interacted with her, other objects at base, and during their adventures, leading her to realize what she was lacking…a physical form. The most she was was a digital being of data and code with a voice… but that did little to define or express herself. Sure, it was enough to communicate with her friends, but she could be more than that. She took time to study those around her, especially other mobians. Given she was mainly stuck to her PDA, Nicole had to make the most she could whenever her friends took her out on missions or small trips around the town, examining those around her. With each moment, it seemed like she learned something new about what it is like being an organic being, from matter to feelings. Enough to obtain a desire of her own… to see the stars of the night sky. With enough development and improvements to her hardware, she would achieve something more… a form that would allow her to interact with the physical realm. It took a lot of preparation, as part of the trouble was… figuring out what she wanted to look like. Mobians come in all shapes and sizes, so there were plenty of options. She would settle on a species… a lynx. Nicole took on the form of a brown lynx with black stripes along her nose and underneath her green eyes, black-tipped triangular ears, a dark nose, and dark hands and feet with three brown toes. She stylized her hair to be black and short with two lengthy braids fitted with beads. She… finally had a look that she could call her own! The digital being would use her updated PDA to project her form onto the outside world, allowing her to interact with her friends. She could feel and see the world as they do… with some limitations. She wasn’t truly flesh as her form is more a projection of herself that can interact lightly, enough to carry her device herself and hug her best friend. Fighting was out of the question for her as it risks her avatar being disrupted and disabled, and leaves her device vulnerable. Sometimes, she must take chances to help out her comrades and do her job, hacking into restricted networks in enemy territory. The lynx flew over a digital, shifting landscape, layered with neon grids and hints of code. Nicole was much more adept in cyberspace than in using her holographic form in the physical world. Here, she could traverse anyway she wished and find all sorts of information that may be littered around networks. She was wearing her short purple dress with a gem on its chest, dark, long fingerless gloves, and matching thigh-high stockings with the toes and heels exposed. She had gone through a few outfits as years went by, experimenting with new attire when the mood was there. Still, this routine was nothing new to her as she dealt with plenty of digital threats created by the same nemesis that had plagued Mobius for years. The only difference was… apparently, there might be a new faction trying to take over. At first, she thought it was another one of Eggman’s once-in-a-while odd schemes… maybe to get back at those who mocked his shapely figure. It started with word and rumors of squadrons donned in purple attire stylized in a militaristic fashion. Cases where mobians worked under the egg empire weren’t anything new, as many joined them out of fear and submission to a grim premonition, or they happened to align with the reality he wanted. Later, a few reports like previously mentioned would show up… now with added details of people being kidnapped… after getting blown up. Supposedly, this army had some tech made to induce swelling in people, rendering them rotund and helpless before capture. It was… absurd to say the least, and made her question how these things were happening. Given her friends have been busy keeping their obnoxious nemesis in check, she figured she could inspect this matter herself. The lynx looked down at the morphing landscape underneath her, seeing it dancing between different vibrant colors and patterns. It shifted from grids with polygons shaped like everyday objects to pixelated replicas of familiar zones she had witnessed… and uncanny, lively resemblances of a machine's attempt to copy reality. Part of her did wish she remained at the Freedom Fighter’s home network, her system, and continued optimizing her team’s strategies, or continued working away on her personal space… get as close to a perfect depiction of a starry night sky she admired so much. She raised and opened her hand, letting her palm project a map of the lanes up ahead. Nicole had to make sure she was on the right path to the database that belonged to this new threat. There were very few details to work with previously, but with patience, she was able to track and narrow down the enemy’s network. She sent a tracker to follow and confirm the trail. Now, she had just had to follow the route. Still, it had her pondering what exactly this faction might be doing. Nicole pondered as she rubbed her chin. “Are they in cahoots with Robotnik?” She questioned, “Could they really have technology that could expand people? If so… Why?” Her expression shifted between concern and confusion. “I don’t see why a group would do anything like that… What purpose is there to capture people after humiliating them? It sounds like they are slowly staking claim on anyone’s territory while being so… brazen about their interests. There better be more to this or-” Beep. Beep. Beep. Her map began to emit a sound, attracting her attention. It showed her destination was in front. She looked ahead and saw a transparent wall with a shade of lavender, cutting the digital terrain she was passing over. The lynx went through the gateway, nearly disappearing in it as it wobbled like Jell-O. Nicole would find herself in a land, stylized with grids over the land with rising curves indicating hills. A gradient sky loomed over the place, transitioning between purple and black. “Interesting scheme…” She commented as she flew over the terrain. Up ahead, an unusual, wide structure would appear in the distance with floating, rotund decor of what seemed like spheres. “Perhaps that’s where the database should be.” The feline drifted towards the building. As she drew, things would become more detailed. The structure she was heading towards wasn’t exactly one large building… It was several warehouses placed together, some close and some further away. These structures were nearly pitch black with neon purple outlines, and all seemed to be connected by black metallic tunnels protruding from either the sides, front, or back. “Strange…” She commented before stopping and descending to the floor. She stood before the entrance of the warehouse that stood alone in the front. Before she could make her move, Nicole decided to look at the decorations dotted near this place. They appear to be rotund and vary in size and appearance. Some were spherical with bloated appendages that had sunken holes; others were more defined, having distended middles underneath, prominent rears bobbing behind, puffed chests poking out the front, and protruding mounds for limbs with swollen extremities sticking out. A few were a variant of either the previous ones… albeit with more enlarged features like a large noggin with bulging orbs featuring dotted pupils. It all certainly gave a weird aura that bothered the lynx. Still, she remained focused and approached the gateway and pressed her palm against the doors. Bits of numbers fluttered around briefly until the gates slid apart, granting her a glimpse of the inside. Nicole stepped into the first warehouse and saw… nothing of note. She scanned around but didn’t see anything else besides its dark walls. The structure was fairly bright thanks to its flashing lines coating its corners and edges. “Hmm…” Nicole pondered, walking further in, “Nothing of interest here yet.” She was a little surprised by the emptiness as her footsteps echoed throughout the room. The whole thing had enough space for one of the twin-tailed fox’s planes, his workshop, and then some. As she strolled around more, she would see a large, circular opening on the back wall. It was wide enough for a truck to fit through, which adds more to her confusion. She shook her head and went through it. The lynx would move through a tunnel, which didn’t bear much light for her. Her steps echoed throughout the passage, adding further to the emptiness of this place. She opened her palm as a cyan orb would appear moments before shining, lighting the space around her. The pipe was dark and smooth, making it a bit easy for her to traverse its surface, but its height did make it difficult for her orb’s light to reach the top. She pondered and walked, her mind trying to analyze this layout further. It would eventually be cut short as she saw an exit up ahead, revealing another room. Nicole stepped out of the tunnel and found herself… in the same area, a large empty hangar that didn’t feature much of interest. She raised an eyebrow and looked around, seeing the same lavender lines and dark walls. The only difference was that there were two entrances on the side walls. The feline scratched her head while shifting her attention between the two openings. She would eventually pick one, move through it, and end up in another room. “Whoever designed this space… Why?” Nicole questioned, finding herself in another familiar area, “There is hardly any reason to have this much empty space.” Her journey in this network has been tiresome so far. She was going through nearly the exact same rooms, just with different tunnel positioning, some having two, others having multiple… a few having one, the one she entered through. This means a brief bit of annoyance before heading back and taking the other path. She was exploring a maze of hangers, some barely varying in appearance. It definitely made it irritating to keep track of where she had gone, but progress was being made. As the lynx went deeper into this labyrinth, things would seem a little different. There would be hints of something more… or that there might have been something. It’d start with finding a piece or two of fur or flesh. She’d find a few more in a couple more areas. “Were there others?” She muttered to herself, “If so… what happened?” The only slight clue she had… was an outline of something larger. There were curved markings with a few lines stretching out, akin to a blast… though hard to tell what it was. The most she could make out was what seemed like hand pants on the side walls… though ones that seemed more fitting for a clown’s oversized gloves and wide footprints on the back wall. “Was something being contained here?” More questions swirled in her mind as she ventured. So many tunnels and too many vacant rooms… “If I remain here any longer, I may go mad…” What felt like the fiftieth passage she went through, she would find herself in a different room. It bore the same layout as the others, but there was a large monitor on the back wall with a stand underneath it, featuring a port and a keyboard. “Finally!” She proclaimed before running towards it until something caught her eye. There were shells along the side walls, each lightly lit, and they had small storage units lined up on them. Piquing her interest, the lynx strolled over to one and scanned them. These containers had the shape of a hard drive, rectangular and slim, with a small transparent window in a corner. A few of them were quietly glowing as she reached out for one. “Is this where they stored their data?” She questioned. The lynx attempted to access it with her hand and was shocked slightly, making her retreat in pain. “Well, encrypted I see…” She would set it back on the shelf and stroll to the mainframe as the storage unit would rattle a few times. Nicole stood before the computer and placed her palm on the keyboard, activating the display. “Let’s see what’s in store here…” The lynx commented as her eyes lit up. She was working her way through the security within the mainframe, cracking it all carefully. With a few checks and prompts, she would be able to get into the files. She smirked and rummaged through the database, searching for whatever would be helpful for her and her friends. What would be found were documents and pictures, each vaguely labeled, relating to plans and vision. She opened the notes, reading what they had to offer. “Mobius has been tainted and stale for too long. Everyone keeps suffering from the same problems and relies too much on the same systems that keep them bound. They expect the same heroic figures to sweep their troubles away, hardly questioning why they keep pushing those villains away and letting them continue with their shenanigans. Why can’t everyone’s favorite speedy blue hedgehog, courageous and role model chipmunk, and the like put an end to this madness? Hmph, perhaps it is long overdue for someone else to take over.” The feline was unsure how to feel about reading that short paragraph. It sounded like it was written with frustration and disappointment that seemed to be directed towards those who fight for justice. She opened another written file. “Soon, everyone won’t have to worry about any mechanical menaces or terrifying monstrosities roaming this planet. They shall see that it is time for change… a change in order. No longer should anyone rely on those lousy Freedom Fighters or local heroes, neither of whom is able to do a proper job of cleaning and eradicating an annoying pest. Besides, it is about time to welcome a new standard that certain people will enjoy, one that’ll ensure they won’t be shamed for what they wish to be. Small is quite dull afterall… and anyone who opposes it will get a taste that’ll leave them… blown away!” “What in the…” Nicole was baffled examining this document. It sounded much firmer in the belief that she and the others were doing a poor job. It struck a slight nerve. “What do they know? What we do isn’t easy, and we do shut down any of his attempts to conquer our homes.” She would inspect the document she could find. “I, Admiral, shall take over this helpless planet and make it better for myself and my people, those who believe in me and my work that shall empower them. With it, they shall become much stronger and larger to dominate any pesky resistance and make them suffer a bloated, helpless fat… or go out with a blast. It’s time for Admiral’s Empire to rise and sweep away these fraudulent figures and eliminate that fat menace they refuse to remove from this planet!” Before she could react, Nicole would be flashed with several images from the system itself. It showed uniformed soldiers from small to average saluting proudly with a large emblem of a rabbit wearing a captain’s cap, stylized in purple and black. Another image unveiled much larger people, ones that make her look so tiny, wearing stretchy suits that wrapped tightly around their odd physiques, some bearing round, hefty figures fit for a wrestler, others much stranger, like having large, towering legs, while having armor and heavy weaponry ready to tear anyone apart. Next, she’d be shown a group of grunts wielding firearms and explosives as they stood on a platform that was attached to a blimp that had a gargantuan belly, bloated limbs, puffed hands, and huge, swollen feet. It’d take her a second to realize it was a person who was that zeppelin upon seeing their smug face, sandwiched between two big cheeks. Lastly, she’d be greeted with several shots of citizens and villagers fleeing. Then it cut to a few of them on the ground and struck with rounds as they were swelling up, and ended with a clear view of several ballooned prisoners stuck in a tight cell as she witnessed fear in their eyes… and then she felt a sharp pain in her middle. “Ow!” Nicole yelled and stumbled back. That painful sensation had snapped her out of that trance. She took several breaths to ease herself after seeing what might be an odd but terrifying display of power. Though… she felt weird, her stomach was sore, and she felt… a little bloated. The lynx shifted her attention to the mainframe and saw that there was a large needle poking out where the port was, underneath the interface. It retracted as the monitor shone brightly. “Congratulations! You’ve made it!” Those were the first words displayed on it. “Good work getting here and receiving a small taste of what is to come for this troubled planet! It must have sent chills down that spine, but worry not… You did earn a prize!” Nicole was confused as she rubbed her belly, barely soothing that strange sensation. The monitor would change and show a simplified figure of a random creature. It blinked a few times before a pixelated needle would appear from the side. The person stared at it until it jabbed into its side and retracted. The being would frown and pat its hip… before suddenly blowing up. Its belly would bulge out and widen, startling the creature. The swelling would go further as its whole body would become spherical, becoming as wide as it was tall, as they flailed their limbs. It expanded and ballooned more, gradually filling out the screen entirely until… BLAM! The display showed a flashy explosion that lasted a few seconds before ending on a picture of a dark grey and brown female rabbit’s head with grey short hair wearing a party hat and blowing a horn. The words “Good luck!” appeared above her. “W-What?!” The lynx looked down and saw her belly had gotten bigger, enough to look like she was pregnant. She patted her middle and watched it wobble slightly as it visibly swelled underneath her dress.”I need to get out now!” She turned around and rushed towards the exit. Her mind scrambled to understand what she was dealing with, running a quick analysis that could pinpoint what type of virus it might be. While she did that, Nicole prepared a message of help, attempting to send it to her best friend… only to be halted with an error. “No signal?! It was working fine-” She stopped speaking upon stepping out into the previous room, finding something new there. There was a floating display with text standing in the middle of the area. “Not now!” She attempted to move past it to get to the other passages, but would find… they were closed. Her eyes widened as she flinched and shifted her attention down. Her belly had nearly doubled in size, stretching and slightly lifting her outfit. She lightly tapped with a finger, making it wobble with a shivering sensation spreading throughout her body. “F-Fine!” The feline ran back to the display and read it. “WHAT IS THE NAME OF THIS PLANET WE LIVE ON?” “...Mobius?” Immediately, the doors retracted, allowing her the opportunity to escape. She let out a sigh of relief before running through one of the tunnels, her burgeoning belly swaying with each step. Nicole tried to remain focused on the paths she had taken to reach the mainframe, slowly retracing some of her steps. It would be a minor task for her, but her billowing belly was getting more annoying to manage. Her middle swelled out enough to lift and peek under her dress. She could feel her affliction spreading further as her hips felt a tad more plump. The lynx tried to keep her attention on the path forward and make sure she could get out of here soon. She would be in the next room and see a familiar display waiting for her again. “Of course there’s another one…” She complained. Nicole would look down and be startled. Her belly could no longer be covered by her dress as it swelled big enough to rival overfilled beachballs. Her hand drifted to the side and rubbed up against her thighs, leading her to notice that they had widened as well. The lynx eased herself and stepped towards the screen. “WHO’S THE MOST ANNOYING MAN WHO SHOULD HAVE BEEN SCRAPED OFF OF THIS EARTH?” Nicole read that question and shut her eyes, seeing that this was something she was more than happy to agree with. “Eggman.” The doors would open up once more as she let out a sigh, though with minor annoyance under her breath. She would hear a beep within her and lift a palm to her face. A digital screen appeared with the results of her scan. “Finally, now to see what that machine injected me with!” Nicole ran towards the tunnel while examining the results. “Let’s see…A virus that… expands?! What does that…” She checked her diagnostics and saw that her internal storage was… looking fuller than usual. She saw the bar indicating free space being filled underneath each unit within her system. Nicole attempted to inspect further to see what exactly was being produced, but she would only find nonsensical files loaded with 1s and 0s. “... Amateur attempt.” It wasn’t anything she wasn’t familiar with, so she tried to initiate the procedure to cleanse it, only for it to fail. “What?” She would check her scans and find them… corrupted, tainted with the same binary spam that is plaguing her body. Shock turned to annoyance as she saw this was going to be more troublesome to deal with than she realized. The lynx grumbled and ran towards the next tunnel, her thighs swelling further enough to rub against each other. It would become a frustrating and mundane journey for Nicole, dealing with an infection that is making her expand with every second and wasting time solving annoying questions to get the entrances to open up. Attempts were made to contain and slow down her swelling, but it did little to hinder its effects. Her chest inflated and pushed against her dress, adding more strain. She could feel her arms fatten, the pressure building up around her shoulders before spreading down to her elbows and wrist. Her oversized rump cheeks bounced behind with each step, which was made worse by her thick calves. It was humiliating to think she might be rivalling the mad doctor’s girthy physique. The questions weren’t getting much better as they slowly leaned towards either insults and aggression or self-serving with pleasure. The idea that she would have to suck up to this mastermind's ego bothered her. “FINISH THIS STATEMENT, ______ IS BEST!” “...Power?” BBBUZZZZZ! A loud, ear-ringing sound would fill the room for a brief moment, making the lynx stumble and flinch. She covered her ears to dampen the noise until it died down. Nicole ground her teeth in annoyance before easing herself. As she retracted her arms, she noticed how badly bloated she was getting. She was looking more comparable to a beach whale, as even her palms had gotten more plump, nearly bigger than her face. Speaking of which, her cheeks and neck had gotten slightly puffy, too. She shifted her attention back to the question and pondered for a moment. “Freedom?” BBBBUUUZZZZZ! Irritation grew within her until new text appeared at the bottom of the display. “HINT: OPPOSITE OF SMALL IS WORST!” She rolled her eyes. “Bigger.” The tunnels opened once again, and she didn’t hesitate to head towards them, albeit it took a while to do so. Her limbs were getting stiffer and slower, cutting down her runs and strolls to speed-waddling. Her feet swelled and squished against the smooth floor as she struggled to lift her legs forward or even see the floor past her middle. She was still making progress, but it was getting too slow to ease her worries. Attempts to combat this virus would be met with little success. She tried to restrict its spread, but somehow it’d slip through and expand. She then attempted to compress the contamination into smaller bits, which led to delayed clumps bursting and filling her out even further. Still, it did give her insight as to how it was all working. It was multiplying every second, duplicating itself over and over again. As it spread to other files and bits of herself, it’d warp and transform them into a similar state as itself, and she felt it all. POP! POP! POP! POP! POP! POP! POP! POP! Those were the sounds her fingers and toes made as the pressure made them swell up one by one, really adding to her comical, inflating appearance. She was getting too big, her dress looking more like a thin, straining top around her immense breasts. Her gloves tightened around her bulky arms and ballooned wrists as did her stockings, causing her swollen toes and heels to bulge out further. The back of her dress split open, revealing her burgeoning back, while her undergarments were becoming more visible and stretched by her couch-filling rear. Sweat ran down her face as it kept getting squished by her cheeks, each nearly as big as her head. She felt she was more than halfway through the maze, but her progress had become painfully slow. Nicole had been reduced to struggling, slow waddles to get through each room and tunnel. She’d do another scan to see what her current status is and to study exactly what is building up inside her. The lynx examined the binary data flooding her systems and saw it translated into… several things. She could read the words: Balloon, Squeak, Hiss, Blimp, Creak, Zeppelin, Fwoomp, and Dirigible. It would easily make her roll her eyes, but given her predicament, it sure added insult to injury. More of herself would puff up as a loud pop came from her gargantuan middle, scaring her briefly as she feared the worst, but it would be her navel inverting itself into a swollen outie. She frowned and bit her lip, which led her to notice it felt strange… it was more plump and slowly expanding. Part of her felt some relief knowing her friends weren’t around to see her humiliating appearance. The design of the maze… she understood why it was the way it is. All the excess space and wide tunnels teased the fate of those who entered as they struggled to get out. Nicole could feel her sides inch closer to the passage walls and rub up against them. Her limbs had gotten too wide to allow such movement, forcing her to rely a little more on hopping to move forward. Despite being wide enough that getting through doors, let alone even fitting in a car, would be impossible, she didn’t bear much weight, a slight blessing in disguise. Her mind did worry if she could escape in time, dreading the possibility that she might get stuck and fill up any of these rooms. The fact that she was getting a bit lighter, too, wasn’t helping, as each jump brought her briefly close to the ceiling. “I…I must be close…” Nicole muttered from between her cheeks, brimming with pressure and dwarfing her small face. She flinched as she felt her ears fill, twitching moments before those triangular features would swell up. It spread to her tail next, making it expand into an oblong balloon, squeaking against her bed-sized ass cheeks. She leaped and leaped, trying to get herself through maybe the last remaining tunnels. Her hips rubbed against the walls, making her flinch and bite into her bloated lower lip. Subtle groans emitted from her immense middle as her plump navel wobbled about. Her dress was splitting further and further, clinging by threads in a vain attempt to cover her backside and cleavage. Her stockings and gloves tore in a few areas, causing bits of her arms and legs to ooze through. Nicole got out of the passage and stood before the usual display. Two sealed tunnels poked from the sides. Sweat ran down her face as she stumbled around to get a more stable position. She tried to read it, but her cheeks were starting to obscure her vision, leaving a small line of sight for her to work with. “In an unjust and damaged world, who can truly lead mobians to a future where everyone can be safe from danger and let them flourish in a more prosperous landscape, untainted by corruption sown by those in charge?” It was strange for her to read something so formal and not completely capitalized. She tried to work out a good answer, but the constant bloating she was enduring was beginning to mess with her mind. The things she had seen and stored were starting to distort and be replaced with those humiliating words. “Come on…Just need the right phrase…” She complained as her burgeoning body groaned. She eyed what she felt were the correct terms to get her out of here. “Admiral!” The tunnel on the left opened as she made her way towards, putting any last bit of strength she had to get through. The fact that she was close enough to filling this whole thing sent shivers down her swollen hide. Her ballooned ears rubbed against the ceiling as she carefully wiggled her way through the thinning passage. Any piece of clothing remaining on her was hanging by a thread, unable to bear the task of covering her billowing mass further. “A-Almost there…” She muttered from the growing crevice of her cheeks. She would soon see the same purple lines and dark space… and an outline of an entrance she’d been through. “Yes!” Excitement overcame her as she got out of the tunnel. Nicole was moments away from freedom and couldn’t wait any longer. She lightly leaped towards the exit, her swelling body wobbling with each step. Her limbs had become round mounds that she could hardly control, but it didn’t bother her now. Sadly, her attire didn’t have the same energy she had. As she landed on the halfway point of the room, her stockings blew apart and unleashed those huge stompers like a pair of airbags. The sudden expansion threw her landing off, making her stumble and fall forward. The lynx panicked as she hit the ground with her belly and bounced towards the doorway. Her dress ripped apart, releasing her restrained body as it swelled out drastically. Her gloves weren’t far behind as they were shredded to ribbons, freeing her overblown mitts for hands. She watched the room spin around as the rolled through the air and out through the entrance, her sides barely scraping past the doors. The lynx landed on the ground again and bounced away from the dreadful facility that nearly contained her. She bounded across the landscape as she tried to focus on tethering herself back home. Her system was detecting a signal, allowing her to detect a route that would lead her out. “Come on, come on!” She complained. Nicole would find herself inching closer to the edge of this digital space. A successful connection would be achieved, alerting and attaching her to the path. “Yes!” She rose and soared through the skies. She phased through the transparent gateway, exiting that accursed network. Nicole found herself back in the ever-shifting terrain known as cyberspace. She floated over the landscape and let out a slightly relaxed sigh. She was out of there… but badly changed. She looked more like a blimp now. Her ass cheeks wobbled behind, swollen large enough to fill rooms, and her ballooned breasts ached from being filled with a few weather balloons’ worth of pressure. Her arms were reduced to swollen mounds with her comically puffed hands featuring palms as wide as a couch and pillowy fingers. Her legs were practically the same, but had feet that dwarfed cars, topped with toes far larger than a bed. Deep groans emitted from her belly, having withstood most of the bloating as it put hot air balloons to shame with its girth, along with a protruding navel that was a fifth of its size. The lynx’s cheeks badly obscured her vision, leaving her with a thin space to peek through. She couldn’t turn her head as her neck had swelled too much to allow it, and hearing wasn’t much better, thanks to her bloated ears. She sighed and groaned into her lower lip. The virus was still doing its work inside her, but she could deal with it once she was back in her main network. Nicole took a glance at her messaging system and saw her message had been sent. “Hopefully she gets it soon…” ________________ “Another day of badnik troubles…I could use a break,” said a feminine, mature voice. Within the corridor of an underground base, a door opens, revealing a slender chipmunk. She had brown fur with a lighter color over her muzzle and chest. Short, red hair lay on top of her noggin with little, sharp ears poking through it. The rodent had been wearing her adventuring attire, a blue jacket with a black shirt underneath, dark shorts, and matching boots. A small, fluffy tail protruded from above her rear. Around her wrists were gauntlets, brimming with the energy of the blades she used to fight off those bad machines. She dug into her pocket to pull out her phone, checking a notification she had received earlier. Message from Nicole Sally, Please return to HQ! We have a problematic matter to discuss! “Problematic?... Is Eggman conducting another one of his sinister schemes?” Sally rubbed her chin from side to side, all the way to her whiskers. “Only one way to find out,” She commented and pocketed her device. The chipmunk moved through the entryway of the Freedom Fighters' headquarters, a structure built underground where she and her teammates work to stop any of the mad scientists’ or their cronies' attempts to conquer the planet. She arrived alone as the others were either focusing on personal tasks… or taking a quick break. The rodent didn’t mind that; at least she got some alone time with her best friend. She made her way to the computer room where her digital companion resided. The chipmunk stood before a large display on a wall that observed the room. Before, it was a desk with a smaller computer. Beside the machine was a gray clamshell device with a screen, keypads, and buttons. Poking from its top was a hook with a ring attached to it. Sally approached the desktop and eyed the wide monitor on the wall. “Nicole,” she called out, “I’m here. What’s going on-” The display activated, revealing something very unusual. Normally, she’d see the lynx she knew greeting her. Instead, there was a strange, large growing thing made up of what she assumed were different swollen parts that were brown and akin to a feline. The cat-like creature had cheeks as big as beds with a plump, broad chin connecting them. Above were some rather swollen ears that almost look like a pair of rafts blown up enough to distend and fold into themselves. In the middle of it all was its muzzle, swollen and topped with a puffed black bulb, and underneath was what she could guess was its lip, dark brown and inflated enough to be larger than she was. Sounds of deep groaning and squeaking were emitted from the monitor’s speakers. The chipmunk looked around the background, seeing nothing but the same color. She went to look in the center, where she noticed a pair of eyes with green irises staring back at her. Her eyes widened. “Nicole?! What’s happening to you?!” “Sh-Shawwy!” The blimped lynx replied, “Geff…Phee…Bhee...Aa-MMPPHHH!” She tried to speak, but her swollen features restricted her quite badly. Sally was a little lost for words, trying to understand why her friend… looked like this. “Apologies, Sally.” The chipmunk heard her friend's voice clearly, but it wasn’t coming from the main display. She looked in the direction and saw that the PDA had been activated. “Didn’t mean to startle you with my… appearance.” “I-It’s alright. What happened, Nicole?” “I was investigating what I believed was the network of a new threat to Mobius.” “Wait, new threat?” “Yes… Someone else might be staking their claim besides Eggman. I tracked down their database based on what I could find from the limited reports about them… It turns out they have quite a particular trap for those like me who try to break into their network…” The smaller monitor on the desk turned on, greeting Sally with a purple polygram of a zeppelin slowly spinning around as balloon sounds swirled around it. There were normal menus and tabs in the top and bottom borders, but they seem to be altered and partially covered with the same odd text. She wasn’t sure what she was looking at. “As you can see… they had quite the particular virus that causes those like me to swell up like balloons. In fact, I wager it wasn’t even their actual database, just a prison to lure curious AIs and attempt to confine them till they can’t contain this excess data any longer. It fills them out, bloating their data banks with nonsensical words fitting of a balloon. It even corrupts and twists any existing info inside to match itself. I was able to get out in time… but…” Nicole looked down at herself, frowning as her whole body wobbled. “Still, we have to keep an eye out for this new faction, Sally. They appear to be using some special equipment and gear that might throw any of us off guard and leave us subjected to humiliating fates like what I'm dealing with!” The chipmunk became quite concerned and pondered Nicole’s statements. “Do you know who they are?” “...Barely. The details they had were scarce and almost reduced to the same worthless bits inside me, but I secured some key info. They are a militaristic force that holds quite a grudge against us, and they are led by someone named Admiral.” “Admiral… I’ll keep that in mind and tell the others…” Sally took another look at the lynx’s bloated face, seeing it very slowly stretch as groans and soft creaks echoed from the display. She rubbed her chin and raised an eyebrow, examining a little further. “Sally? You're looking at me a bit too curiously. Does… my appearance interest you?” “Um…A little. How are you feeling there?” “I-It’s… strange. On one hand, I do feel incredibly full and bloated all over. It’s bad enough that I can hardly move or speak clearly without assistance. On the other hand… There is this bizarre sensation that feels slightly good, feeling my whole figure stretch inch by inch… pressure filling nearly every bit of me. I don’t know what to make of it personally…” “I’ll… I’ll at least say this, based on looking at your face here… You do look oddly cute.” “...C-Cute?” Nicole’s eyes widened as she blushed before looking away. “There’s just something a bit adorable about how the rest of you are so blown up and seeing your face being sandwiched between those cheeks… It’s kinda funny and cute at the same time.” The lynx blimp’s blush reddened and spread further across her taut cheeks. “I’m guessing you’re massive enough that only your face and neck can be shown?” “Y-Yes… I’ll at least say this. It may take days before I really begin to make progress getting all of this excess data out of me, and likely another week before I can slim down to my usual self. I-If you wish to observe the rest of me, I am technically occupying the other screens in our base. J-Just… keep this between us, please!” “Heh… Sure thing, Nicole.” “Oh, and one more thing…” “Hm?” “Do tell Rotor that he’ll need to upload from his backup drives. I… had to clear out a lot of storage units here to maintain myself while dealing with this problem.” “...You know he’ll be upset about this. He just scanned a lot of his comic books last week.” “W-Well aware…”